The contribution of renewable energy sources to Serbia’s gross final energy consumption reached 25.8% in 2024, marking a modest increase of 0.4% compared to the previous year.
Data from Eurostat show that Serbia now sits slightly above the European Union average, which was 25.2% in 2023. Despite this, the country’s overall progress remains limited when viewed over a longer period.
Within Serbia’s energy mix, heating and cooling lead in renewable use, with green sources accounting for 37.2% of consumption. Electricity generation follows, with a renewable share of 32%, while transport remains the weakest sector, with renewables at just 0.6% for the fourth consecutive year. Compared with neighboring countries, Serbia lags behind, as Albania and Montenegro have already surpassed 40% renewable share, illustrating a faster transition in parts of the Western Balkans. Over the past two decades, the EU has almost tripled its renewable share, whereas Serbia has only doubled it, highlighting a slower transformation trajectory.
At the European level, ambitions have been further raised. The revised Renewable Energy Directive adopted in 2023 increased the binding EU-wide target for renewables in gross final energy consumption from 32% to 42.5%, with an aspirational goal of 45%.
Serbia’s national targets, outlined in its National Energy and Climate Plan, are more modest. By 2030, the country aims for renewables to cover 33.6% of total energy consumption, 45% of electricity generation, 41% of heating and cooling demand, and 3.2% of energy use in transport.